


Smile

by firstadream100



Series: The 100 - Short AU Stories [1]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Social Media, barista!Clarke, gradstudent!Bellamy, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-05-10 08:24:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5578393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firstadream100/pseuds/firstadream100
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke is a barista at Coffee Grounds and Bellamy is a stressed grad student who needs caffeine.  A small misunderstanding gets Clarke offendeed and irriates Bellamy throughout the day.</p><p>or</p><p>That seventh cup of coffee might have been a mistake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You were an ass to me, and I'll annoy you the rest of the day

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: That seventh cup of coffee might have been a mistake.  
> from  
> http://unblockingwritersblock.tumblr.com/post/135741221679/writing-prompt-461-hook-line-and-sinker

  **#1: 8:03 a.m.**

“Double shot latte. _Please._ ”

Clarke just started her 8-hour shift at the café, when a customer’s plead got her attention.  She’s busy making a very specific order - **non-fat latte with caramel drizzle and three pumps of vanilla** , when she hears a guy practically beg the cashier, Jasper, for caffeine.  He looks like he hasn’t slept in days; his hair all disheveled, dark circles under his eyes, and his skin looking a little pale, highlighting the constellation of freckles on his face.  He’s attractive, she can’t deny it.

“Clarke, you’re stalling the production line!” her manager, and best friend, chastises her.

Raven Reyes is all about production and efficiency.  She studied every one of her employees and assigned them to the position she knew they were going to be more productive, particularly in the busiest hours of the day – early morning and midafternoon.  In Clarke’s case, Raven decided she was most productive and efficient as a barista during these times.   _Apparently not when there’s an attractive guy half asleep in line_ , she thinks, taking a peek at said distraction.  He looks irritated glancing at his watch while adjusting his backpack. 

Clarke continues to work several of the complicated orders o queue before she comes across Jasper’s scrawny handwriting “ _XX Latte Bellamy_ ”.  The dork even drew, or tried to, a bell beside the name, probably trying to make the evidently miserable man smile. She looks again at the handsome customer, who was now glaring at the woman who bumped into him while getting her order.

Smiling, she begins his order, making special effort in the art.  She likes to make special designs to people who might need a pick-me-up during her shift.  Normally she experiments on designs when there aren’t many customers waiting for their others, but she couldn’t resist.  Apparently she was taking too much time, because Raven came to “supervise” her.

“What’s taking so long?” she asks.

“Just trying out something new,” she responds nonchalantly.

 “Well, save it for the slow hours,” Raven answers back, taking a peek at Clarke’s work. “Who’s that one for?”

“Hot tall guy. Beautiful freckles. Annoyed expression,” she whispers.

She hears Raven chuckle, while finishing her work of art.  She had carefully made a smiley face on his coffee order.  Proud of her work, she takes a deep breath before calling its owner.

“Bellamy!” she calls, placing the paper cup on the counter.  He walks towards it while fiddling on his phone. “Have a nice day, Bellamy,” she says politely.  He grunts something while picking up his cup and walking out of the coffee shop, his attention completely on his phone.

Deflated, Clarke turns back to the espresso machine and continued working.  The next customers didn’t get any elaborated art on their coffees.

 

**#2 10:45 am**

Clark is returning from her 15-minute break when she sees him again.  She is assigned to the register during this hour because Raven believed she should use the slower hours to practice taking a speedy and accurate order.  Because _apparently_ she tended to strike up conversations with customers during rush hours.

But she’s still wounded because of his lack of acknowledgement earlier, so she decides it was a good opportunity to practice Raven’s suggestion on time taking orders.

“Welcome to Coffee Grounds. May I take your order?” she asks in the most politely way she could.  He’s carrying several books, his attention focused on trying to not to drop them.  He looks more alert, but his hair is now hidden underneath a cap. _Damn,_ Clarke thinks, _he looks more attractive, the bastard._

“One latte. The biggest one you’ve got,” he answers, while taking his wallet from his back pocket. He stammers something while giving her the cash, but she doesn’t catch what it is.  During the whole money exchange, he didn’t even look at her once.

She misspells his name on purpose and smiles politely at the next customer.  In her peripheral view, she can see him searching for a table and laying the books and backpack on top of it.

“Hot freckles is back?” Raven asks, carrying several boxes of cups and stirrers.

“Yep,” is her only answer.  She didn’t want to give Raven the satisfaction of knowing she was still upset about the whole “he-ignored-the-smiley-face-I-did-for-him” event from this morning.

“Still licking your wounds, I see,” she replies, a mischievous on her face.  Clarke doesn’t please her with an answer.  She goes back to work as Raven walks back to the supply closet, snickering.

“Jeremy! Jeremy!” her co-worker, Maya, calls out. “Jeremy.” Clarke watches as the source of her irritation looks up from his cellphone and looks confusedly at Maya. “Jeremy? Extra tall latte?” She almost lets out a chuckle when the guy’s shoulder sag and, defeated, walks towards the counter.  She’s still fighting the urge to laugh when he glares at her, clearly irritated at her for getting his name wrong.

Clarke continues to stock the counter with sugar packets and stirrers while ignoring the handsome and annoyed guy walking towards his table.

 

**#3 12:09 pm**

Clarke is going on her lunch break when she sees _him_ walking towards the counter and standing in line.  She could switch with Jasper and go, but she feels the urge to continue irritating him.  She takes the order of the two customers before him and just when he’s next she decides it’s a good moment to go have lunch.

“Jasper, take over, please,” she says sweetly to her friend. “I’m going to lunch.”  She avoids looking at him while leaving, but doesn’t miss the scoff he throws her way.

 

**#4-5 1:01 pm**

Clarke is returning from her lunch when she sees him leaning on the pastry display, coffee cup on his hand, and talking very amiable to a blushing Maya.  She can hear his deep voice and Maya’s giggles when she enters the coffee shop. 

Just when she walks by him, he turns and collides coffee-first into Clarke.  Luckily the hot liquid avoided both of them, but it still made a mess on the floor.  He doesn’t apologize to Clarke, and neither does she.  The commotion attracts Raven’s attention, who was flirting with one of the regulars.  (If you ask her she’ll tell you she was not flirting, she was _debating_ something.  She tends to _debate_ a lot with a certain engineer who comes every day at the time Raven is taking orders.)

“What’s going on?” she asks.

Neither of them spoke.  They just continue to glare at one another.  Clarke doesn’t understand how a small and insignificant event had escalated into glaring at each other.  It’s not even uncommon that a customer ignores her latte art.  But stubborn as she is, she isn’t going to cave in.

“Let me fill you another one, on the house,” Raven says, signaling Maya to make the order.

“No need, Raven,” he answers. And Clarke eyes widen a bit.

“Come on, Bellamy, is the least I can do. How’s your sister, by the way?” Raven asks, her voice clearly amused with everything that was going on.

Clarke stands frozen for a few seconds, eyes wider now.  She’s been bitching about a customer to Raven and sulking all morning, and she knows the guy!

“She’s good. Freshmen at college,” he answers, turning and ignoring Clarke.

She walks to the other side of the counter and puts on her apron while shamelessly eavesdropping on their conversation.

“Wow, I thought she was still in high school. Times flies,” Raven replies, her voice still laced with amusement. “Still buried in books, I see,” she says signaling the table filled with papers and books.

“Yeah,” he sighs. “I’m TA in two classes and have my thesis defense in a couple of weeks.” Clarke watches as he takes off his cap, runs his fingers through his still messy hair, and puts the cap back on.  She begins cleaning the espresso machine, feeling a little guilty of her behavior all morning.

“Here you go,” Raven hands him his fresh coffee. “Well, you always did work your ass off taking care of her all these years.  She turned out good.”

“Thanks, Raven.  We should catch up. Octavia would love to see you.”

“Bring her anytime.”

“I will,” and he smiles.  Clarke had been staring at him for the last minute and his smile has been the best thing she’s seen.  When he smiled his whole face lighted up and his eyes sparkled.

His eyes meet hers, and it’s then she realizes how tired they looked.  And now, she’s even more ashamed about the way she’s treated him all morning.

 

**#6 3:23 pm**

Clark is updating the day’s special on the coffee shop’s Twitter.  She been managing the account for a couple of week and loves how the customer share their experiences Coffee Grounds. She even has the shop’s Twitter account on her phone.  She’s going over the mentions, answering a couple of tweets, when she saw it:

_bllmblke: Having a very crappy morning when I visited @CoffeeGrounds. A nice barista made me this and actually made me_ _J_ _. Have 2 thank her next time. 8:10 am_

Attached to the tweet was a photo of the art she created for him that morning: a smiley face.

She hadn’t felt so stupid in a very long time.  She bites her lower lip and steals a glance at the author of the tweet.  He’s reading a book; his head being supported by his hands.  She was sure she sees his head bob and then sits straight, blinking rapidly.

Hesitant, her finger hovers on his username, curiosity screaming at her.  She caves in and opens his profile.  Soon enough his freckled face is looking back at her, smiling.  She can’t help but smile back.  It all feels very stalker-ish, and she reasons that that is better to just go back to her work.  But one of the most recent tweets catches her attention.

_bllmble: I don’t know how to make this pretty barista smile.  My usual asshole self in not working. I wonder why. #ISuckAtThis 1:17 p.m._

Clarke feels the blush start on her cheeks and rapidly spread through her whole face.  She scrolls down to the coffee pic tweet and reads his feed.

_bllmblke: Having a very crappy morning when I visited @CoffeeGrounds. A nice barista made me this and actually made me_ _J_ _. Have 2 thank her next time. 8:10 am_

_bllmblke: Just finished my meeting with my thesis advisor. Why does he hate me? #INeedCoffee #1001Corrections 10:03am_

_bllmblke: omw 2 @CoffeeGrounds. #ThesisTime 10:10 am_

             _oisthebestblake: @bllmblke remember 2 thank the barista & don’t be an ass!_

_bllmblke: @oisthebestblake I’m not an ass._

             _oisthebestblake: @bllmblke ur always an ass to girls you find pretty_

_bllmblke: @oisthebestblake Who told you I find her pretty?_

             _oisthebestblake: @bllmblke u did idiot, when u call me before ur meeting. “a pretty barista made me a smiley face” #dork #keepmeposted_

_bllmblke: @oisthebestblake Shut up, O._

_bllmblke: Tried to thank the barista for the coffee. Ended up stammering like an idiot. #WhatsWrongWithMe_

             _oisthebestblake: @bllmblke she probably thinks u r an ass #way2godork_

_bllmblke: @oisthebestblake O, I’m going to block you_

             _oisthebestblake: @bllmblke maybe i have 2 go 2 that coffee shop n see what got ur panties in a bunch #moodybellamy_

_bllmblke: @oisthebestblake Fuck off._

             _oisthebestblake: @bllmblke <3 I love u 2 brother_

_bllmble: I don’t know how to make this pretty barista smile.  My usual asshole self in not working. I wonder why. #ISuckAtThis 1:17 p.m._

Clarke stares blankly at her phone.  Jasper drops something, making her jump out of her stupor.  She locks her phone stands behind the pastry counter, sorting the freshly baked cinnamon rolls into the display.  She sneaks a peek to who has been her torment all day and watches him fight falling asleep.  As a truce, she serves one cinnamon roll and makes fresh coffee.  She takes three deep breaths and walks towards his table.  His eyes are half closed and staring blankly at a page.  Slowly she places the symbolic olive branch on his table, far from the books and papers, but still on his eye range.

“I didn’t order anything,” he says, staring at the cinnamon roll and then at Clarke.  When he registers who she is, he sits straight and looks at her suspiciously.

“I know,” she shrugs. “It just looks like you needed one. It’s on me.”

She smiles at him and is rewarded with the most genuine expression she’s seen on him all day.  His eyes are sleepy but his smile is bright.  _Maybe that’s what he looks like when he wakes up,_ she muses and quickly chastises her brain for going that way.  She turns around and walks back to the counter, where a couple of customers are waiting for her.  She hears his laugh.  He saw the smiley face on his coffee.

 

**#7 4:54 pm**

Her shift is almost over and she’s busy cleaning a mess she made serving a customer.  For the hour and a half, she has been distracted glancing to the hot freckled guy.  Several times he’s caught her staring.  And to her satisfaction, she’s caught him staring a couple of times too.  She glances again to the table and sees him typing forcefully on his phone.

“So, going home soon?” Raven says beside her, making her jump.  Her voice was a little louder than it needed to.

“Um, yeah.  Got a class early tomorrow morning.”  She goes to clean the machines before clocking out.

“I got this.  Why don’t you take a couple of orders before you go?” Raven insists, while pushing Clarke towards the register.

When she gains back her balance she is face to face with Mr. Freckles.

“Um, can I get another one?” he asks shyly.

“Um, sure.  Regular?”

“Yeah.”

“Name?” Clarke asks almost automatically, grabbing the Sharpie and an empty cup.

“Bellamy.”

She looks up and finds him smiling at her.  She blushes and smiles back.

Right then Clarke decides to make a bold move.  She writes his name, correctly, on the cup and adds her phone number.  She hands the cup to Raven, who throws her a knowing smile, and heads towards the employee’s break room.  She retrieved her messenger bag and her jacket from her locker and heads out.

When she goes back to the counter, she says good-bye to Raven, who’s smiling like the cat that ate the canary.  Ignoring her she scans the room for Bellamy, but he’s nowhere to be seen.  His table is clear of all his things.

She looks back to Raven who is purposely avoiding her eyes while cleaning the espresso machine. Sighing she heads outside, thinking that maybe he wasn’t as interested as she thought.  When she turns towards her car, there he is standing on the sidewalk, while nervously holding his books with one arm, and his coffee cup with his free hand.

“Hey,” she says, blushing.

“Hey,” he answers back, while tapping rapidly his foot on the ground.

“I thought you left,” she pathetically states.

“Raven kicked me out.”

“Why? You’re like the day’s most valuable customer,” she kids, and is satisfied to get a smile back.

“I know, right,” he blushes.  He’s practically bouncing on his feet. “She said that if I wanted to flirt with her employees, to do it outside.”

 Clarke feels a smile forming, while her cheeks get warm and she swears it matches his blush.

“Well, I think Maya left hours ago, and Jasper, well…he’s really into Maya,” she teases.  She continues to walk to her car hoping he’ll follow her. He does.

“I’m not talking about them,” she hears him say, and when she turns with a witty remark on her tongue he’s standing close behind her.  Like _i-can-feel-your-breath-on-my-face_ type of close.  Her eyes glance at his lips, mere inches from her, and dart back to his eyes.  He smiles when he noticed what caught her attention, and teases her looking at her lips.  She concentrates on trying to count the freckles on the bridge of his nose.

“Oh,” it’s the only thing her brain can process.

The moment is cut short when he suddenly jumps and takes a deep breath.

“Are…are you okay?”

“Um…yeah…yeah.  I might be having a heart attack or that seventh cup of coffee was a big mistake.”

They both laugh.

“So, I guess inviting you for coffee right now might not be the best idea,” Clarke says.

“Maybe not.” He’s still smiling.  “Do you work tomorrow?”

“No, I’ve got classes the whole day.”

“Oh,” he says, looking at the sidewalk.

“Maybe we can grab a coffee after last class.  I’m out at five.”

His face lights up.  “Sounds good. Here?”

“Um, I would prefer it if my boss and co-workers aren’t watching us the whole time.” _Because they will._

“Yeah, you’re right.  There’s a place near campus.   _The Ark,_ I think.”

“Great, I’ll meet you there after 5.”

“Perfect.”

He’s smiling and walking backwards.

“See you tomorrow, Clarke.”

“Until tomorrow, Bellamy.”

He begins to turn, when she remembers.

“Hey, Bellamy.  Those last two coffee cups, they were decaf,” she smiles.

He sheepishly smiles back, and even from where she’s standing she can see he’s blushing.

She’s still smiling when she reaches her car.  It takes her a moment to notice that she didn’t tell him her name, but somehow, he knew.  Then she notices her name tag clipped to her shirt and smiles.  She looks back and watches him walk, turns and winks at her.  Thank every that’s powerful in the universe that he’s far, because that wink cause Clarke to blush profusely.  She watches him throw the coffee up in a nearby trash can and take out his phone from his back pocket.  She’s a little disappointed that there was a possibility that he didn’t see her phone number written on the cup, but she’ll see him tomorrow and will give it to him. And definitely get his number, too.

She gets in her car and gets out her phone to plug it in.  She sees she has a few text message notifications. One is from Raven ( _He’s hot. And totally into you. DON’T MESS IT UP!)_ , one from Wells ( _I need a study buddy.  Been trying to write an essay all day. I’ve got pizza.)_ , and one from an unknown number ( _Thanks for keeping caffeinated all day.  It really did make me smile. – Jeremy_ _J_ _)_.

She laughs; because of course he would remember the name she gave him. She saves the number under _Bellamy,_ with happy face and coffee cup emoji.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I wrote the first part eons ago, but I really wanted to finish this and include Bellamy's day. Hope you enjoy.

 

**#1: 8:00 a.m.**

Bellamy checked his watch for the third time since he was in line for his coffee.  His alarm didn’t go off, so he didn’t have the time to make his own coffee and drink in peace while he read his favorite news blog.  He opted to have coffee on his way to campus.  He had a meeting with his thesis advisor in less than an hour, which he was dreading.

 

He practically begs the cashier for a double shot extra-large latte and pays him, leaving the change in jar the tips on the counter.  A minute later he finds himself staring absentmindedly behind the counter, when a blonde girl catches his attention.  She was petite, with blonde long hair in a ponytail and blue eyes.   She seemed concentrated preparing orders, and bites her lower lip while pouring the milk into the cup.  Apparently he stares too long, because when she turns with what he assumes it´s his order, he takes out his phone and begins to randomly open apps.

¨Bellamy!¨ she calls, and he loves the way she said his name.  He wouldn´t mind hearing it again.

As he walks towards the counter he notices the time, and curses just as she says something.  He thinks she was wishing him a nice day.  Annoyed because he´ll be late for his meeting and ashamed at cursing just when she hands him his coffee, he turns and leaves the coffee shop in an instant.

Outside, the morning breeze cools his reddening face.  He looks down at his cup, and smiles.  The cute barista had made him a smiley face coffee art.  He was pretty sure the small coffee drops on the face’s cheeks were freckles.

Amused, and actually smiling, he took a picture of the smiley face while he waited for the bus.  Remembering a sign on the coffee shop, he opens the Twitter app and searches for the shop’s Twitter page.  He takes a sip of his coffee and groans.  _This is such good coffee._

He practically hears his sister’s voice: “You should be more social, Bellamy.  You haven’t tweeted in months.  And it’s always boring Greek stuff.  No wonder I’m your only follower.”  He writes a short tweet, attaches the picture and tags the coffee shop.  

He decides to call his sister, just to make sure she is actually on her way to class.

¨Hey, Bell!¨ she answers.

¨Hey, O. On your way to class?”

“Yes,” she answers annoyed. “You know Bellamy, you don’t have to call me every morning just to make sure I woke up in time for class.”

“Old habits are hard to break.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hey, what are you doing up? I thought you were going to pull an all-nighter.”

“I did.  I worked on my thesis up until 5.  I have a meeting with my advisor at 9.”

“That sucks,” she says.

“Yeah.  It sucks even more that my alarm didn’t go off.   I was a zombie.  I tripped on the stairs of the apartment building, I haven’t eaten breakfast and I had to buy coffee at this place near my apartment.  Coffee Grounds?”

“Oh, yeah.  Isn’t there where Raven is working?”

“Now that you mention it, I think I caught a glimpse of her this morning.”

“Oh, yeah? Did you even acknowledge you saw her?”

“I’m not even sure it was her.  I tell you, I was a complete zombie.  I even ignored the pretty barista that was nice to me”.  He smiled remembering the smiley face. “She made me a smiley face on my coffee.”

“Yeah…how nice?” Octavia teased.

“Maybe I’ll go back later and ask for Raven.  It’s been months since I’ve seen her.”

“Don’t try to change the subject, Bell.  How pretty was she?”

Bellamy smiled remembering her. “Very pretty.”

 

**#2 10:00 a.m.**

His advisor is evil.  Bellamy hated him.  He kept insisting that Bellamy searched for Freudian literature, since he was using Oedipus the King in his thesis.  Bellamy analysis was of the political conflicts reflected in Sophocles’ works.  But his advisor kept insisting to include Freud’s theories, but Bellamy didn’t see how it was related.  He still made some suggestions that actually made sense and wanted a revision at the end of the week.

Just outside the faculty building, Bellamy takes his phone out.  He felt it vibrate during his meeting, probably Octavia sending him Greek tragedy memes.  He has a few text messages from her.

     9:00 You finally used Twitter for interesting stuff

     9:00 That was hardcore coffee art

     9:01 #barristaflirting

     9:01 You should use it more often. You already have Miller as a follower in less than an hour.

He checks his Twitter followers and notice he has 3 new followers, Miller, Lincoln, and Monty.  He rolls his eyes, since he’s pretty sure Octavia made everyone follow him.  Just to keep her happy, he begins to write a new tweet.

_bllmblke: Just finished my meeting with my thesis advisor. Why does he hate me? #INeedCoffee #1001Corrections 10:03am_

He walks towards to bus stop, trying to plan his day.  He really needs to sleep.  But it’s Tuesday and the advisor wants the corrections by Friday.  It’s still early on the day, and if he goes directly to his apartment to sleep, his whole sleep-wake cycle is going to be off for days.  Deciding to push through the day he begins thinking of places where he can be productive for a couple of hours.  His apartment is not an option, since he probably will go to sleep.  The library is a good option, he needs to look at some reference books, but it’s too quiet.  He tends to get distracted when there is too much silence.  He decides to go back to Coffee Grounds.  He remembers they had several table and electrical plugs, and the chairs seemed comfortable.  Plus, there’s coffee.  And a pretty barista.

Motivated, he unlocks his phone to let Octavia know how his meeting went.  The Twitter app is still open, so he decides to share another status.

_bllmblke: omw 2 @CoffeeGrounds. #ThesisTime 10:10 am_

He opens the messages app.  He’s not finished writing Octavia a text, when he receives a notification from Twitter.

_oisthebestblake: @bllmblke remember 2 thank the barista & don’t be an ass!_

This begins an online sibling discussion:

_bllmblke: @oisthebestblake I’m not an ass._

_oisthebestblake: @bllmblke ur always an ass to girls you find pretty_

_bllmblke: @oisthebestblake Who told you I find her pretty?_

_oisthebestblake: @bllmblke u did idiot, when u call me before ur meeting. “a pretty barista made me a smiley face” #dork #keepmeposted_

_bllmblke: @oisthebestblake Shut up, O._

 

He closes the app before Octavia replies again.  A visit to the library and a couple of books later, he arrives at the coffee shop.  His eyes automatically search for her among the employees behind the counter.  She isn’t there.  Deflated he stands in line, struggling to hold his book and backpack.

“Welcome to Coffee Grounds. May I take your order?” 

It’s her, he knows it’s her.  But he’s been looking for her in around the coffee machines, he totally missed her right behind the register.  How that he’s slightly more awake than before, he notices the mole by her lip.  He finds it sexy as hell.

“One latte. The biggest one you’ve got,” he answers, while taking his wallet from his back pocket.  He thinks about saying something…anything to acknowledge her, and her coffee art from before, but he struggles to keep his thoughts straight.  _Thank you for the smiley face this morning,_ what was he thought of saying.  What he ended up stammering his name and avoiding making eye contact with her. _This is going great,_ he thinks. 

She takes his money and he walks towards one of the tables near an electric plug.  His plan is to be there all day, might as well get comfortable.  He’s turning on his computer when one of the employers call an order.

“Jeremy! Jeremy!” the girl behind the counter calls. “Jeremy.” Bellamy is pretty sure that’s not his order, but he looks around and the other three patrons already got their order, and didn’t event move when the girl call the order.  “Jeremy? Extra tall latte?”

He looks over the counter, and sees the blond barista from before hiding her smile.  _Great,_ he thinks as he walks defeated to pick up his order.  His a little annoyed by this whole situation, but more annoyed at himself for being such an inept social being.  When he returns to his table he notices that he’s been glaring at the barista all this time, and hides his face in his hand. She must think he is an angry human being, who hates the world.

Frustrated, he opens the Twitter app again.  If he gets hooked on this, he’s blaming Octavia.

_bllmblke: Tried to thank the barista for the coffee. Ended up stammering like an idiot. #WhatsWrongWithMe_

Of course, Octavia would answer almost immediately.

             _oisthebestblake: @bllmblke she probably thinks u r an ass #way2godork_

_bllmblke: @oisthebestblake O, I’m going to block you_

             _oisthebestblake: @bllmblke maybe i have 2 go 2 that coffee shop n see what got ur panties in a bunch #moodybellamy_

_bllmblke: @oisthebestblake Fuck off._

             _oisthebestblake: @bllmblke <3 I love u 2 brother_

 

**#3 12:08 p.m.**

He’s been fairly productive during the morning, even with the constant impulse of looking over the counter for the pretty blonde barista.  He’s been able to work with his adviser's recommendations from this morning, but he’s purposely ignoring including Freud’s in his arguments.  He has half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his backpack, but he really needs caffeine again.  He’s getting to old to be fairly functional after pulling an all-nighter.

He’s in line after a couple of customers, and she’s the one taking orders at the register.  He begins practicing what he’ll say when it’s his turn at the register.

“Jasper, take over, please,” she says sweetly to the other employee. “I’m going to lunch.”  She avoids looking directly at him the whole time.  He can’t help scoff at her antics.  He’s completely lost as to why she is annoyed with him, but it doesn’t really surprise him.  He tends to annoy everyone who crosses paths with him, as his sweet baby sister likes to remind him constantly.  Octavia’s theory is that it’s been so long since he got laid, let alone been in a relationship, that he is hate to the world emanate from his pores and affects everyone around him.  He’s starting to think she might be right.

Defeated and hopeless, he sits down again with his cup of coffee.

 

**#4-5 1:00 p.m.**

He’s half-way yet another cup of coffee and talking to the sweet barista, Maya, when he sees her again.

He’s been talking to Maya for the last 10 minutes, about history and art, both topics Bellamy is very passionate about, and apparently Maya is too.  She laughs about some lame joke he just said.  Thinking it’s time to go back to work, he turns and collides coffee-first into the blonde barista. How is he able to avoid spilling coffee over her and himself, it by itself a miracle.  He’s in a pseudo-state of shock, unable to move or say something.  He looks at her and notice a defiant look in her eye.  He doesn’t know why, but it riles him up.  He’s ready for a fight, and he can’t even understand why or what is it about.

“What’s going on?” a fairly familiar voice asks.

Neither of them spoke.  They just continue to stare at each other.  The barista is glaring at him, and he’s glaring back, enjoying a little getting her riled up.

“Let me fill you another one, on the house,” the voice says, and he turns to notice it’s Raven looking back at him.

“No need, Raven,” he answers. To say he enjoys the barista’s eyes going wide it’s an understatement.

“Come on, Bellamy, is the least I can do. How’s your sister, by the way?” Raven asks, clearly aware of the exchange and amused by it all.  The barista is rooted in her place, and hasn’t move since colliding with him.  He notices her name tag, _Clarke._

“She’s good. Freshmen at college,” he answers, turning and focusing on Raven.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees her walking to the other side of the counter and putting on her apron.

“Wow, I thought she was still in high school. Times flies,” Raven replies, her voice still sounding amused. “Still buried in books, I see,” she signals to the table filled with papers and books.

“Yeah, I’m TA in two classes and have my thesis defense in a couple of weeks.” He takes off his cap, runs his fingers through his messy hair, trying to relieve some of the tension that comes every time he talks about this thesis.  He can feel Clarke’s eyes on him while he talks. Sees her fidgeting with behind the counter.

“Here you go,” Raven hands him his yet another cup of coffee. “Well, you always did work your ass off taking care of her all these years.  She turned out good.”

“Thanks, Raven.  We should catch up. Octavia would love to see you.”

“Bring her anytime.”

“I will,” and he smiles fondly at Raven.

He knows he has to go back to his work, and suddenly the lack of sleep is catching up with him, in spite of the cups of coffee he already have drank.  But before going back to his table, his eyes meet hers, and they are soft and missing all that annoyance that was there a couple of minutes ago.  Oblivious of the reason for the change, he walks back to his table.  He checks his phone and his finger hoovers over the Twitter icon.  Ignoring his common sense, he decides to send something to the universe, or his 4 followers.

 

_bllmble: I don’t know how to make this pretty barista smile.  My usual asshole self in not working. I wonder why. #ISuckAtThis 1:17 p.m._

 

**#6 3:26 p.m.**

He gave up and began reading Freud’s writing on Oedipus complex, _super_ fun topic by the way, for almost two hours when he feels his head bobbing and his eyes closing. He is still not convinced He vaguely registered movement until a plate with one cinnamon roll and a cup of coffee appear in his line of vision, far from his books and papers, at one corner of the table he commandeered. 

“I didn’t order anything,” he says, staring at the cinnamon roll and then at the person who is standing by his table. Clarke.

Unconsciously he sits up straight and looks at her trying to figure out why she’s being nice now.  Of course, he assumed something he did annoyed her, which is not surprising at all.

“I know,” she shrugs. “It just looks like you needed one. It’s on me.”

She smiles sheepishly at him, and he feel a warm feeling spreading within his chest.  He can’t help but smile back at her.  He’s tired, even with all the caffeine he’s been drinking all day. He probably looks like one of the zombies from _The Walking Dead_.

He looks down at the coffee cup.  Another happy smile with foam decorates his cup.

He can’t help laughing.

 

**#7 4:54 p.m.**

For the last hour and a half, his attention has been divided between his laptop and the cute barista behind the counter.  Several times he’s caught her staring, and to his embarrassment, so has she.  He wants to ask her out, or at least get her number to have the opportunity to ask her out.  But he knows he sucks at this.

He pulls his phone out and decides to ask his sister for advice.  He’ll never hear the end of it, but he has a feeling that if he gets a successful interaction with Clarke, it will be worth a lifetime f teasing from Octavia.

_4:55 Hey, O…_

_4:55 What is the least creepy way to ask for a girl’s number, after been staring at her practically or the whole afternoon._

_4:55 And please, leave the teasing for later._

A couple of seconds later, he gets his response.

_4:56 is this the barista?_

_4:56 my advice…stop being a scared wuss and ASK HER_

_4:56 good luck_

_4:56 it’s sad you have to ask you baby sister for this kind of thing_

_4:56 just sad_

 

He sighs, and begins walking towards the counter.  Clarke is talking to Raven, and he notices his friend pushing Clark towards the register. _Real subtle, Raven._

“Um, can I get another one?” he asks shyly.

“Um, sure.  Regular?”

“Yeah.”

“Name?” Clarke asks, grabbing the Sharpie and an empty cup.  He thought she would’ve remember by now, but of course, he was an ass most morning, better to start with a clean slate.

“Bellamy,” he answers, smiling at her.  When she looks up, she blushes and smiles back.

He watches her hand over the cup to Raven and walk towards a door that says, “Employees Only”.

“You know, if you’re going to be flirting with my barista, please do it outside, not during her shift,” Raven says, while giving him the cup of coffee.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he says.  Raven turns his cup to show his name written on it, accompanied by what it looks like a phone number.

“Her shift is over, I recommend you pick your things and wait for her outside.  Her car is toward the corner,” Raven says while she’s cleaning the counter.

He picks his stuff up at record speed, and thanks Raven when he leaves out the door. He registers her laugh and something like _kids these days._

He stands in the sidewalk, where he can see her come out of the shop.  He looks at the cup on his hand, and takes out his phone.  He saves her number under, _Clark,_ with a coffee cup emoji.  He sees her walk out.  She looks disappointed at first, but her face lights up when she sees him.  The warm feeling in his chest comes back, and something like hope.

“Hey,” she says, blushing, while she walks towards him.

“Hey,” he answers back, suddenly feeling restless and fidgety. He’s aware he’s tapping rapidly his foot on the ground, but he can’t help it.

“I thought you left,” she says.

“Raven kicked me out.”

“Why? You’re like the day’s most valuable customer.” That makes him smile.

“I know, right,” he feels his face warming up.  He’s practically bouncing on his feet. He’s taking that chance. It’s now or never. “She said that if I wanted to flirt with her employees, to do it outside.”

Clarke smiles at him, and he can see the blush appearing on her cheeks.

“Well, I think Maya left hours ago, and Jasper, well…he’s really into Maya,” she teases.  She continues to walk to her car and he follows her. He’s not missing this chance.

“I’m not talking about them,” he says walking behind her, and when she turns he stops.  She’s standing close to him, only inches apart, and he can feel her warm breath on his face.  He sees her eyes glance at his lips, and then dart back to his eyes.  He can’t help smiling, and looks at her lips too.  He wishes to kiss her right there and now, but has a feeling that he’ll get the chance to do it properly in the future.

“Oh,” she whispers.

His heart is pounding on his chest, and he feels he’s having either a heart attack or a panic attack. The moment is cut short when he suddenly jumps and takes a deep breath.

“Are…are you okay?”

“Um…yeah…yeah.  I might be having a heart attack or that seventh cup of coffee was a big mistake.”

They both laugh.

“So, I guess inviting you for coffee right now might not be the best idea,” Clarke says.

“Maybe not.” He’s seriously can’t stop smiling.  “Do you work tomorrow?”

“No, I’ve got classes the whole day.”

“Oh,” he says, looking at the sidewalk.  He’s not sure how much to push for it, without looking like a creep or annoying her.

“Maybe we can grab a coffee after last class.  I’m out at five.”

 “Sounds good. Here?”

“Um, I would prefer it if my boss and co-workers aren’t watching us the whole time.” Knowing Raven, she will.

“Yeah, you’re right.  There’s a place near campus.   _The Ark,_ I think.”

“Great, I’ll meet you there after 5.”

“Perfect.”

He’s smiling and starts walking backwards.  Better retire now, go home, rest, and be completely himself tomorrow.

“See you tomorrow, Clarke.”

“Until tomorrow, Bellamy.”

He begins to turn…to walk away, when she calls back to him.

“Hey, Bellamy.  Those last two coffee cups, they were decaf,” she smiles.

He feels embarrassed and knows he’s blushing, yet again. He just hopes she doesn’t notice.  He continues walking and hears a car door close.  He turns, and boldly, winks at her.  For a second he mentally slaps himself for being so ridiculous.  He catches a glance of her blush, and finishes his coffee throwing the cup in a nearby trash can.  He takes his phone and looks Clarke’s contact info.  He writes a quick text and locks his phone.

A couple of minutes later he receives a short reply

_5:15 Looking forward to tomorrow ;)_


End file.
